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Athena, OregonPhoto: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Athena · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Athena as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Athena gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2010.

River and rain flooding 87%Earthquakes 9%Wildfire 3%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

more than 59%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Oregon · higher than 59% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
87% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2010 · $6K
Flood claims per home
2 per 1,000
fewer than 65% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Athena faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

River and rain flooding

87%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 76% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Earthquakes

9%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 76% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Strong wind Tornadoes Hail Lightning Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 15% of Athena’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Athena’s grade

River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in Athena, and Athena’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 76% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 3%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Athena sits
Athena
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Athena’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding87%Earthquakes9%Wildfire3%Everything else1%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $867K a year in losses across Athena: $563K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Athena’s 1,209 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Adams city (389 residents) and Umapine CDP (285 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Athena flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2010

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Athena, from FEMA’s records: 1.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 65% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2010: 1 claim2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2010
20102026
1
paid claims since 2010
$6K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$6K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Athena isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Umatilla County.
Disasters

The storms Athena remembers

None of the 8 disasters declared for Umatilla County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Athena itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20101 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in AthenaUmatilla County only

Umatilla County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Umatilla County, 2001–2026.

Were you here?

Old photos of Athena after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Athena archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Athena faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Athena

Is Athena at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Athena has higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%) and earthquakes (9%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Athena flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Athena since 2010, $6K in all, or 1.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 65% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Athena in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Umatilla County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Athena?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Athena’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Athena at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and Athena’s rate for it is higher than 76% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Athena.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Athena’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.